DOH confirms it forwarded Quicho's complaint vs. Pimentel to NBI, PNP

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday confirmed that it has forwarded the complaint against Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III for alleged breach of quarantine protocols to the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police.

"We have endorsed it to appropriate authorities such as the NBI and PNP. Ito naman talaga 'yung proseso na ginagawa namin kapag may ganitong mga complaint na nare-receive," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a virtual forum.

"Ang DOH naman usually administrative ang sa amin. With regard to this, mayroon nang ibang process na kailangan so we have submitted it to the proper authorities," she added.

In April, lawyer Rico Quicho filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) a complaint against Pimentel for accompanying his then-pregnant wife to Makati Medical Center in March even though he was still waiting for his COVID-19 test result.

On Thursday, the complainant tweeted that the same complaint he submitted to the DOH was endorsed to the NBI and the PNP.

DOH formally endorsed the Complaint vs. Sen Pimentel to PNP Chief Gamboa and NBI Dir Distor to undertake investigation for possible violations of RA 11332.

— RICO PAOLO QUICHO (@ricoquicho) July 16, 2020

"DOH formally endorsed the Complaint vs. Sen Pimentel to PNP Chief Gamboa and NBI Dir. Distor to undertake investigation for possible violations of RA 11332," Quicho said.

On the other hand, Pimentel—who already submitted his counter affidavit to the DOJ—invoked "sub judice" and refused to make further comments on the issue.

"The Quicho complaint is supposed to be a legal matter not a political one. Hence, respecting the principle of sub judice analogously, the counter affidavit is for submission to the DOJ and not to the media," he said.

The sub judice rule restricts parties from publicly commenting on an issue involved in pending cases to avoid prejudging.—AOL, GMA News